That's according to the Maine Department of Labor, which says that about 51,700 Mainers were unemployed in February, a drop of about 300 over the year.

Maine's jobless rate remained at 7.3 percent in February, unchanged from January as well as a year ago.

That's according to the Maine Department of Labor, which says that about 51,700 Mainers were unemployed in February, a drop of about 300 over the year.

The state's unemployment rate remains below the national rate of 7.7 percent, but is higher than many other New England states. In the region as a whole in February, the rate was 7.0 percent; Vermont posted the lowest rate in New England, at 4.4 percent, and Rhode Island the highest - 9.4 percent.

Estimates for other New England states were 5.8 percent in New Hampshire, 6.5 percent in Massachusetts, 9.4 percent in and 8.0 percent in Connecticut, Maine labor officials say.